Help Your Kids Love Their Bodies

Parent-Child Activities for Better Body Image

-- By Liza Barnes, Health Educator

SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more

According to Kater, there are four common myths that parents need to address with their kids. Use the tips and activities below to combat negative influences and nurture the seeds of a healthy body image.

Myth #1: "How I look is more important than who I am.”

Read “Beauty and the Beast,” and discuss the idea of objectification.
Explore, together, the history of body ideals—corsets and Chinese foot binding are good places to start.
Page through a magazine together, noticing the unrealistic images that predominate the pages. Search for realistic standards that promote self-esteem and healthy lifestyles.
Watch a video that illustrates how the media's images of beauty are often fabricated.
Emphasize inner qualities in your children. Complement their accomplishments, good deeds and personalities.

Myth #2: “Everyone can be thin if they work hard enough.”

Teach your kids that every person has their own unique body type, and that complete control over body type and weight is not possible. Teach them that body shape is a lot like height—there’s not much they can do to change it.
Help them recognize and appreciate the wide variety of body shapes and sizes. Looking at the different body types of athletes make good examples—jockeys, swimmers, runners, wrestlers and baseball players all have different strengths thanks to their body shapes.
Help then understand that it is normal to experience an increase in body fat during puberty and throughout life. Teach them that this increase has a biological purpose.
Model respect for diversity by showing appreciation of your own body type. Don’t let your kids overhear you complain about your thighs or lament about how much you overate.

Myth #3: “Dieting is effective.”

Help them understand that severe caloric restriction is ineffective and unhealthy in the long term.
Focus on eating more healthy foods rather than eating fewer foods.

Myth #4: “Eating healthy and exercising is too hard, and no fun!”

Teach the importance of a balanced diet, and the pitfalls of relying on meals that provide little nourishment. The best way to teach this is by example.
Teach the importance of an active lifestyle, and how it can be fun as well as health promoting. Get active with your kids.
Choose fun fitness activities for that the whole family can enjoy.

Even when kids eat healthy foods and get plenty of exercise, there will still be a variety of body types, shapes and sizes. By teaching your children to accept and appreciate this diversity, they will become more accepting of themselves.

‹ Previous Page Page 4 of 2 Return to main fitness page »

Related Poll

What do you try to teach your kids about body image?

Submit My Vote ›

About The Author

Liza Barnes
Liza has two bachelor's degrees: one in health promotion and education and a second in nursing. A registered nurse and mother, regular exercise and cooking are top priorities for her. See all of Liza's articles.

Member Comments

OPTIMIST1948

The challenge I have is my diet is warping HIS perceptions of normal. He'll say things like "Oh, I cant eat that because I'm watching my fat grams." And YES we have had the talk about "no foods are off limits, some foods are just treat foods." And there is NOTHING wrong with his body. He is FINE. - 4/15/2013 12:27:18 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
AHUVAK1

Interesting article, but I respectfully disagree about not sheltering your children from the media. Especially when we are talking about children aged 8-11. There is no reason they have to be leafing through 17 magazine, or watching a super model documentary on Bravo. Parents need to monitor their children and can control what goes on in their own home. - 4/15/2013 9:19:00 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
HEIDISHOPE

Good article. I have a son who has always been smaller than his age-mates, but at age 14 he started growing and bulking up and eating TONS so he thought he was getting heavy. I used the BMI calculator here in the SP Resources to show him he is at the perfect weight for his height. That really opened his eyes and he's relaxed about himself and accepted himself. - 1/19/2012 10:46:48 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
JENELOPE

I think one of the most important points was a little buried in the article: watch what you say about your own body and perceived shortcomings around your kids. When your kids are young, they model their behavior more on their parents than on anything they see or hear in the media. When you say things like "I hate my hips" or "my thighs are fat" or indicate that you feel guilty over a handful of chips or a piece of cake, your kids absorb that information. They associate being fat with being ugly and feeling worthless and start to view foods as bad or forbidden.

If you want to raise kids with good self-esteem, work on your own! - 9/28/2011 9:30:06 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
DRB13_1

Good information for ANYONE, not just parents or children.
The recommendations would work for anyone wanting to live a healthy life, lose weight, or develop a better body image.
Well done! - 8/22/2011 12:05:55 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
JACKSMIMI2

Actually, this is a great article for adults too... I'm actually going to do quite a few of those things on the list...if not all of them! - 7/31/2010 8:36:06 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
CHERYLRG

Very good article. Thanks! - 7/27/2009 1:21:03 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
VSINGLE72

This was a really good article and I will defintely pass this on to my cousin. She is dealing with weight issues at 13, she doesn't look like the rest of the girls in her class and I'm sure this has to be hard. I always try to encourage self-love and self-appreciation because if she can't love & appreciate herself then she won't expect that from others outside of family. - 9/9/2008 12:57:39 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
DKIRKLIN

If you haven't yet, check out that video that's linked in this article about media's distortion of beauty. They literally distort the photo, enlarging the eyes, lips, elongating the neck, etc. Even I could look like a model! :) - 4/5/2008 11:42:37 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
DKIRKLIN

If you haven't yet, check out that video that's linked in this article about media's distortion of beauty. They literally distort the photo, enlarging the eyes, lips, elongating the neck, etc. Even I could look like a model! :) - 4/5/2008 11:41:40 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
JIBBIE49

My dd joined SPARKTEENS and has been learning so much about healthy diet and exercise. - 3/17/2008 8:16:28 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment